What does it mean for the world to end? Spanish author Levi\u2019s novel takes up that question both literally and figuratively. Largely structured as 19-year-old narrator Little Lea\u2019s tale of her life, which she’s recounting to a man in search of his lost dog, this novel reckons with the appeal and dangers of home. \u201cI don\u2019t know how it is where you\u2019re from, sir, but when you escape from here, you don\u2019t return,\u201d Little Lea explains to her partner in conversation. She’s talking about the remote town in which she grew up, as well as the dangers that lurk in the surrounding forest. This idea of abandonment as deeply final echoes the apocalyptic imagery that runs throughout the book and the outright belief among some characters that the world is about to end. In some ways, Levi\u2019s novel is a familiar coming-of-age tale, navigating Little Lea\u2019s troubled relationship with her family, marijuana-fueled contemplation, and infatuation with Javier, an old friend. Eventually, Little Lea reveals that her older sister Nora\u2019s disabilities have upset a balance within the family: \u201cWith Nora and her damaged brain, my mother learned that life can be cruel and that prevented her happiness from developing.\u201d In MacSweeney\u2019s translation, Little Lea\u2019s voice\u2014at once casual and haunted\u2014emerges as a compelling element, both casual and occasionally jarring, as when Little Lea\u2019s struggles with her sister culminate in an image both visually stunning and deeply transgressive. Much like the forest that surrounds the setting here, this is a novel capable of lethal shocks and bold transfigurations.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What does it mean for the world to end? Spanish author Levi\u2019s novel takes up that question both literally and figuratively. Largely structured as 19-year-old narrator Little Lea\u2019s tale of her life, which she’s recounting to a man in search of his lost dog, this novel reckons with the appeal and dangers of home. \u201cI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2971"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2971"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2971\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}